Aircraft package delivery



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March 2U, R945. R. BEDDOW AIRCRAFT PACKAGE DELVERY Filed Jun 29, 1942@breuk/1A Patented Mar. 20, 1945 UNITED STATES pl'iild'l GFFICE AIRCRAFTPACKAGE DELIVERY Raymond Beddow, Toledo, Ohio Application June 29, 1942,Serial No. 448,927

1 Claim.

This invention relates to the delivery to aircraft while in motion inthe air, packages or the like thereby obviating the necessity of landingthe aircraft for such purpose.

An object is to produce a new and improved means for forcefullyprojecting a package or the like to a flying aircraft in response to abeam of light from the aircraft.

A further object is to produce mechanism of the above character which isautomatically propelled to the desired position beneath the aircrafttransversely of the line of flight and subsequently to cause the packageto be automatically shot or expelled to the aircraft-when the latter isat the desired predetermined elevation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appearand for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, the invention isshown schematically on the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic View partly in elevation and partly insection, showing a gun for projectng packages or the like and anairplane, the latter having a net to receive the same and having a lightbeam for energizing a photoelectric cell carried by a movable carriageon which the gun is mounted, the gun being shown on tracks and beingcable actuated. by a reversible motor along the same; and

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view showing a series of photoelectric cellswhich are designed for moving the gun carriage from one position toanother transversely of the line of flight of the airplane in responseto a light beam from the airplane.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a gun I of anysuitable type which is adapted forcefully to eject packages toward theairplane I2, the latter being equipped with a suitably arranged net I 3on the underside for receiving the package II. The packages may be shotfrom the gun I0 in any suitable or well-known manner such as bycompressed air or by spring pressure but since the construction of thegun y forms no part of the present invention and is well-known in theart, detailed description and illustration thereof is not considerednecessary.

The gun I0 is mounted on a carriage It whichl is supported by wheels I5mounted to travel along tracks I6. The firing mechanism for the gun I0whether by a trigger to release the spring pressure or by actuating avalve in case of a compressed air operated gun, is controlled by aphotoelectric cell I'I which is carried by a laterally extending bracketI8 connected to the carriage Ill. The photoelectric cell operates in theusual manner through a suitable relay (not shown) for electricallyactuating or controlling the operation of the firing mechanism so thatin obedience to a beam from an airplane, the firing mechanism isoperated. The detail mechanism which is responsive to the photoelectriccell il is not illustrated but the same will be readily understood byanyone skilled in this art and since it forms no part of this invention,description and illustration thereof is not given. Sufiice it to saythat a beam of light from the airplane energizes the cell Il which isoperatively connected to operate the gun Ill.

As above mentioned, the photoelectric cell Il is disposed at a pointremote from the gun ID. Although the exact distance of the cell Il fromthe gun is not critical, it is desirable that it be disposed at asubstantial distance from the gun. In order for the package Il to bepropelled into the net i3 carried by the plane I2, it is necessary thatthe plane be at a predetermined height above the gun Ill in order notonly that the package Il reach the net I3 as the plane is in flight butalso that it is not too close to the gun so that the impact of thepackage I2 will cause no damage. For this purpose, the aircraft I2carries a light source I9 for creating a beam of light 20 which extendsat an angle to the vertical, for example at an angle of 45 degrees. Thisangle' may be varied but the beam must not be straight down from theplane and it is believed that an angle of the order of 45 degrees ispreferable. In the event that the airplane is lower to the ground or inthe dotted line position A, the beam 28 would not be focused upon thecell I'I but would strike inwardly from it. If the aircraft were abovethe predetermined height or at the dotted. line position B, it is clearthat the light source would not be directed upon the cell II but wouldstrike outwardly of the cell. The angularity of the light source i9 maybe varied con? siderably but manifestly if the beam 20 were straight upand down or vertical with respect to the gun I0, the difference inelevation of the plane (within certain limits) would make no differenceand as a consequence, firing of the gun would result in the packagefailing to reach the airplane or striking it with excessive force. Onthe other hand, by inclining the beam 20 with respect to the vertical,the difference in elevation of the plane I2 above or below a criticalheight results in the failure to discharge the gun.

It is therefore necessary that the plane I2 be at a predetermined heightabove the gun IU before the beam 20 energizes the photoelectric cellI'I. In this manner it is apparent that in no case will the gun I bedischarged until the plane I2 is at the proper position with relation tothe gun I0 so that the discharged package Il will reach the net I3. Ofcourse, it will be understood that the gun I0 Will be preliminarilyadjusted to expel the package with sucient force to reach the plane, Ifdesired, any suitable means 'may be provided for drawing the net I3 4upinto the body of the plane so that access tothe package shot into thenet can be readily had.

As above pointed out, the gun carriage I4 has wheels I5 mounted ontracks I6 which are arranged transversely to the line of night of theplane I2. The carriage I4 is moved along the track I6 by a reversibleelectric motor 2l suitably connected to operate a cable drum 22,. Woundupon the cable drum 22 is a cable 22', one end of which is anchored at23 to the carriage I4 and the opposite end is anchored at 24 to thefront end 0f the carriage. This length of cable then passes about asheave 25 connected to a support 25 and thence back to'the cable drum22. The arrangement is such that when the cable drum is rotated in onedirection, the carriage is moved in one direction along the track andWhen rotated in the opposite direction, the carriage is moved in theopposite direction.

The operation of the motor 2l is controlled by a series of laterallyspaced photoelectric cells 21 which are arranged a predetermineddistance, 200 feet for example, in rear of the gun it] and along theintended line of flight of the airplane I2. The airplane I2 carries asource of light 28 to create a vertical beam 29 which, as it fliestoward the gun I 0, focuses upon one or another of the photoelectriccells 2l. These cells are connected through relays (not shown) tooperate the motor 2l in such manner as, to cause the motor 2| to movethe gun carriage or platform in one direction or the other in responseto the particular cell upon which the light beam focuses. The

series of photoelectric cells 2'I may be arranged several hundred feetin advance of the gun I0 to afford suflicient-time for the motor toshift the gun to the desired position according to which one ofthe cells.21 has received the beam of light from the airplane I2.

The particular form of relays and controls for the motor 2| is no partof this invention but the same will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art. The characteristic feature resides in the provision of aseries of photoelectric cells which act in obedience to a verticallydisposed light beam from the airplane for moving the gun carriagetransversely of the line of ilight for positionng the same properly withrespect to the plane. However, under some circumstances the gun carriagemay be stationary but in this instance greater care must be exercised bythe pilot in maneuvering the plane.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction,arrangement; and operation may beeiected without departing fromthespirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claim.

What I claim is:

Apparatus of the class described comprising an aircraft, receiving meanscarried by an underportion of the aircraft, means on the ground forpropelling an article into engagement with said receiving means, aphotoelectric cell associated With said propelling means and operativelyconnected thereto for actuating same in response to a light beam fromthe aircraft, said photoelectric cell being spaced laterally from saidpropelling means in a, direction at substantially right angles to theintended line of flight of said aircraft,` and means on the aircraft forcreating a light beam inclined substantially from the vertical in alatteral direction toward said photoelectric cell to impinge a lightbeam thereon when the aircraft iiies directly over said propelling meansat a predetermined height above same.

RAYMOND BEDDOW.

